Betrayed?
by SkyGem
Summary: The nationals are over, and the Seigaku team have won, but, it's not the happily ever after everyone thinks. Overhearing the other regulars talking, Ryoma learns that he was only being used, and leaves Japan for America...For the Looking Away Challenge.
1. Of Friendship and Betrayal

Summary: The nationals are over, and the Seigaku team have won, but it's not the happily ever after everyone thinks. Overhearing the other regulars talking, Ryoma learns that he was only being used and leaves Japan for America. Now, 3 years later, a certain monkey king finds himself meeting a very different Echizen Ryoma. Royal Pair.

SkyGem: Hey guys! This story is for the "Looking Away" challenge issued by EmInArEvOl. Please r&r and tell me what you thought. Now, on to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own PoT.

* * *

**Ryoma**

I felt myself smiling happily as I was congratulated by my sempai-tachi, by my friends. For once in my life, it felt like all the walls I had built around myself were gone, and I was truly happy. I had come to truly trust everyone on the Seigaku team, I cared for them

When Eiji and Momo finally released me, I looked around and saw Oishi come over.

"Ryoma-kun, why don't you go home now and get some rest? After all, you did just get over your amnesia, you must be tired. We can't have you sleepy at our celebration party later," he said in a motherly way.

I smiled at him and said, "Hai, Oishi-sempai."

After detaching myself from a pouting Eiji and Momo and saying goodbye to everyone else, I grabbed my bag and turned to leave.

Halfway out the stadium, though, I realized I didn't know when or where the celebration party was being held. It was probably going to be at Taka's restaurant, but I just wanted to make sure.

* * *

**Oishi**

"You think he's gone?" asked Momo.

"98% chance that he's already left the stadium; 1% chance he got held up by somebody else and is still in the stadium, but far enough not to hear us; 0.88% chance that he's outside drinking Ponta; and 0.22% chance of him returning here," said Inui robotically.

"Finally," said Momo, rolling his eyes. "You know, I was kind of sceptical at first, but the brat really did get us the nationals."

"Yeah, he did. Now, can we kick him off the team yet, buchou?" Fuji almost whined.

"Of course," said Tezuka. "He's done his job and is no longer useful to us. We can just tell him to focus on the grand slams, aim higher or something."

"Good riddance," said Momo in an un-Momo-like tone. "You have no idea how tired I am of pretending I actually care for him. Best friends? Yeah right! My only best friend is Mamushi. Isn't that right?"

As Momo slung his arm around Kaido's shoulder in a way I hadn't seen in months, Kaido glared a little, saying "That's right, but can you not do that, Momoshiri? The brat may be gone, but that doesn't mean that you can treat me the same way as him."

Chuckling, Momo just ignored what he said, instead saying to the rest of the team, "I can't believe he thinks that we actually care for him. He must be pretty naïve to think anybody would care for someone like him, ne?"

I sneaked a glance at Eiji and Taka, who were looking pretty upset. I met Eiji's eyes, and immediately knew he felt the same way I did.

I was about to voice my thoughts, when I heard a small sob from behind me. Alarmed, I turned and saw a familiar face, streaked with tears.

"Ryoma," I said, reaching out towards him.

He just jerked away from me, turned around and left. By now, everyone was watching with stunned looks on their faces.

* * *

**Ryoma**

"Ryoma," said Oishi, reaching out to me, and I could see what looked (to me) like pity in his eyes.

Jerking out of his grip, I threw him a glare, then turned around and left.

As I ran out of the stadium, all the things they had said kept ringing in my ears. Of course they felt the way they did. Why should they feel any differently? It had happened to me before in America, with people befriending me for my tennis skills, or my parents' wealth. Why should I be so surprised this time? Why should it hurt so much more this time? I should have gotten used to it by now. This was the norm for me.

Slowly, I felt myself drawing back into the walls I had built around myself before coming to Seigaku, the walls that had kept me safe and which I had so naïvely allowed to be broken down.

While thinking all this, I called a taxi and headed home, all the while drawing deeper and deeper into my shell.

Once I arrived at the temple, I rushed in and up to my bedroom, ignoring my parents' worried looks.

Finally arriving at my bedroom, I slammed the door closed and got to work, packing my clothes and other precious belongings.

About ten minutes later, my mother popped her head into the room and saw me rushing around taking all my clothes out of the closet, gathering my things.

"Ryoma?" she asked confusedly.

I turned to look at her and when she saw my tear-stained face, she rushed up to me, enveloping me in a hug.

"Oh, Ryoma, what happened?"

"Nothing," I said coldly.

"Then what are you doing with all your stuff?"

"I'm packing," I replied. "I want to move back to America.

"Nani?" asked my mother faintly, seeming more than a little surprised.

Looking at the floor, I said, "I don't want to stay here. Those guys, they said that they don't need me anymore, that I've already done everything they wanted me to. Even if I stayed, it's not like anyone would talk to me anymore. What's the point? I might as well go back to America. At least I have Kevin over there, and I can make a fresh start."

I could see from the expression in my mother's eyes that she had guessed what had happened.

"But who will you live with?" she asked, her voice laced with worry.

I looked up at her with defiant eyes. "I can just live with Ryoga. He's always complaining about how he doesn't get to see me enough. He'll be happy enough to have me there,

She must have seen that I would not change my mind about this because, finally, she agreed.

Nodding hesitantly, she said, "Then I'll call the airport and tell them to get the jet ready. When will you be leaving?"

"As soon as possible," I said, standing up and beginning to pack my clothes.

About two hours later, I was on my family's private jet and on my way to America to live with my brother.

* * *

SkyGem: Well, that's chapter 1, and I know it's short, but, the next chapter will be longer. So, please review and tell me what you thought.


	2. Returning to Japan

SkyGem: Hey guys! Thank you so much to all who reviewed last chapter, and I hope you all like this one! Now, on to the story!

* * *

**Ryoma**

Stepping off the plane, I looked up at the cloudless blue sky. _Hmm, so it's already been two years…_I thought.

Looking around, I spotted a familiar monk outfit and headed over towards it.

"Yo, oyaji!" I called.

He looked at me, and his eyes became confused. Then taking in my green-tinted black hair, and the cat carrier at my side, his eyes widened, and he said, "R-Ryoma?"

"Hey," I said. He just kept staring at me, so I said, "Ne, oyaji, close your moth, some flies already went in there."

He finally seemed to come back to his senses, and shouted, "You ungrateful brat! I come here to pick you up, and you insult me?"

"Yeah, whatever," I said. "Can we go home now?"

He looked shocked that I hadn't fought back, so he just said, "Uh, yeah. Umm, let's go."

After I had retrieved my luggage, I got into the car and we drove back home. After all the greetings were over with, I went upstairs and started unpacking.

After I was done packing, I put on some fresh clothes and went to look around town.

* * *

**Atobe**

I stared out at the monotonous landscape going by, a bored look on my face. Ever since **he** had left two years ago, the outside world had lost interest for me. The brat was the only one who would even think about arguing with me, everyone else was just too obedient, and it was getting boring.

As my eyes roved over the landscape again, a mass of familiar green-black hair caught my eye. I sat for a moment in shock, unable to move. Then, shouting to the driver to stop, I was out of the limo in a heartbeat, dashing over to the person, trying not to raise my hopes.

Catching up to the young man, I put a hand on his shoulder. Turning him around to face me, I saw finally the eyes I had been yearning for these past two years.

I drank in his appearance, taking in his beloved golden, cat-like eyes, and his now shoulder-length, green-tinted black hair. His now leanly muscled body, currently covered up by a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, and a red button-down shirt, unbuttoned to show a black tank top, with a well-muscled torso barely showing.

"What do you want?" he asked in a barely irritated tone.

Looking back up at his face, I noticed something I had overlooked before. His beautiful golden eyes were completely devoid of all emotion. This completely shocked me. His eyes used to always be confident, or cocky or smug, or on very rare occasions happy or sad, but never, ever emotionless. Looking into his eyes, I shivered a bit, they were so **cold**.

"What do you want?" he asked again, his voice showing a little more emotion.

"You see ore-sama for the first time in two years, and all you can say is, 'What do you want?' You can at least say hi, brat."

"What did you call me?" he asked, and I was relieved to see a flash of irritation in his eyes. The old Echizen was still in there, he was just buried deep, deep down. All I had to do was bring him out.

"You heard what ore-sama said, brat."

"Shut up, stupid monkey king!" he said, the irritation a little more noticeable.

"Make me!" I replied.

* * *

**Ryoma**

I was about to retort back, but caught myself, remembering not to get too irritated, not to show any emotion. "Whatever."

Turning around, I started walking away.

"Oi! Echizen! Wait!" I heard him call after me.

I just kept walking.

"Wait...Ryoma!"

Freezing, I turned around.

"Who gave you permission to call me by my given name?"

Then, I was surprised to see Atobe actually looking sheepish.

"Umm, well, it was the only way to get your attention, and, well…." he trailed off, blushing.

Ignoring the tiny surge of pleasure I felt, I said, "Well, you've got me now, so what do you want?"

Looking up, his expression was first shocked, then turned absolutely evil.

Taking a step back, I said, "Atobe, don't you dare."

Ignoring what I said, he ran up to me, caught me around the waist, and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me over to the limo he had come in.

"Let me go!" I said, letting annoyance colour my voice.

"No way!" he said, the smile evident in his voice.

Once we got to the car, he threw me in and climbed in after me, giving the driver orders to go 'home'.

Looking at him, irritated, I asked, "What the hell was that for?"

He glanced down, his playful face suddenly becoming serious.

"'That' was for leaving for two whole years without saying bye to ore-sama."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "You haven't changed a bit."

Meeting my eyes, he said, "But you, on the other hand, have changed a lot."

Lowering my gaze, I remained silent.

Suddenly, I felt him put his hands on both sides of my face, forcing me to look up at him.

"Tell me," he said. "What happened?"

* * *

SkyGem: Well, that's chapter 2! So, I have a question, do you think Ryoma should tell him yet? Or should I leave it until later? Please review and tell me what you thought.


	3. Facing One's Demons

**Ryoma**

"Tell me," he said. "What happened?"

Looking into his eyes, I was tempted to tell but in the end, I just couldn't say it.

"Nandemonai."

He held my gaze for a second longer then let go and said, "Fine, you don't have to tell ore-sama now, but when you're ready, ore-sama is here to listen."

I looked at him, shocked that he could say something so…thoughtful. I was about to reply, when the car stopped. Looking out the window, I saw that we were in front of a huge mansion.

My eyes widening a bit, I asked, "Where are we?"

"This is ore-sama's home," said Atobe haugtily. "And since it's already so dark, you are staying here for the night."

"What?" I asked, surprised. "But I-" I tried to protest but was cut off.

"No buts," said Atobe. "Ore-sama said you are staying here, so you're staying here."

"I don't have any other clothes," I said, trying to find an excuse.

"Ore-sama will lend you some."

"My parents will be worried."

"Call them. There is such thing as a cell phone."

Frowning, I decided to give up. There was no way I would win this argument. "Fine!" I said, and five minutes later I had finished calling my parents and assuring them I was alright, and we were on our way into the mansion.

Once inside, I couldn't help but stare. There was a huge chandelier on the ceiling, and everything looked really expensive, but what shocked me most was, about fifty percent of the furniture was purple.

I looked at Atobe questioningly, one eyebrow raised. "Nani?" he asked.

I almost laughed, but kept a straight face, and said, "Nothing."

Going upstairs, I followed him to what I guessed was a guestroom.

"You can stay here for tonight," he said. Then, smirking playfully, he added, "Unless you would prefer staying with ore-sama in his room?"

Trying not to blush, I said, "Yeah right! Why the hell would I want to do that?"

Smirking, he said, "Well, the offer will stay open, so whenever you change your mind, feel free to come over."

I just glared back at him, and he continued.

"Anyways, the bathrooms over there, and it has a bathtub if you want to take a shower, there are clean towels there, and some fresh clothes too. Feel free to help yourself."

"Great. Now leave," I said, pushing him out the door.

Turning around, he said, "It's no polite to tell your host to leave." I gave him a do-I-look-like-I-care look, and was about to close the door in his face, when he said, "But, ore-sama will let it slide on one condition."

I raised an eyebrow and, before I knew what had happened, Atobe leaned in, and brought his lips to mine in a quick, and unexpected, peck on the lips. Before I could do anything to stop him, it was already over, and he was walking down the hall, throwing over his shoulder, "There's a lot more where that came from! And all you have to do is ask!"

I stood there, stunned and unable to move. Then, still dazed, I made my way to the bathroom, undressed, and took a nice, hot bath in an attempt to calm my nerves, making sure to lock the door behind me.

After I had finished my shower, and had all but forgotten what had just happened, I dried myself off with a towel (purple, of course), and put on a purple shirt so big, it might as well have been a dress, that I found in the bathroom. Making sure the bedroom door was locked, I crawled into bed, and promptly fell asleep, completely exhausted due to jetlag.

* * *

I opened my eyes groggily and looked up at the ceiling, confused for a moment as to where I was. Then, realizing that whatever I was using as a pillow was way too warm, I looked and saw that it was an arm. Following the arm to the torso, and then up to the face, I saw that it was Atobe, and all the events of the previous day came flooding back.

Jerking away from him, I tried to get up from the bed but instead got tripped by the sheets and fell in a tangled heap onto the floor, effectively waking up the sleeping monkey king.

Looking at my scowling face, he said in a playful voice, "Need some help?"

Glaring at him, I said, "What are you doing in my bed?"

"Ore-sama couldn't resist," he said. "You looked so cute, so I decided to crawl in."

"I thought I locked the door?"

"Oh please, whose house do you think this is? Ore-sama has keys to all the doors," he said, bringing his face close to mine in the process of helping me up.

Blushing as I remembered yesterday's kiss, I pushed him away and stood on my own.

Looking me up and down, he said, "You know, you look pretty good in purple."

Blushing again, I said, "Shut up, baka monkey king."

Then, gathering my clothes, I went into the bathroom to put them on. Once I was done, I came out and saw Atobe, still sitting on the bed.

"I'm going home," I announced.

His face fell, and he said, "What? Can't you at least stay for breakfast?"

"No," I said as I made my way out the door.

"Fine, but at least let ore-sama drive you there."

"No way in hell!" I almost shouted.

At this, he smirked a little then said, "Then how about I have Sebastian drive you?"

"Hmph, fine! As long as it's not you."

"That's harsh," he said.

"Like I care."

* * *

"Thanks, Sebastian," I said as I stepped out of the car.

"No problem at all, Echizen-sama," he replied, then drove off, but not before waving to me one last time.

Sighing, I went turned around and went back to the temple, eager to get inside and change, then eat breakfast.

* * *

Later that night, I had just finished dinner, and was about to go upstairs to my bedroom, when my father stopped me.

"Wait, Ryoma."

Turning around, I gave him a questioning gaze, and said in a toneless voice, "Yes, oyaji?"

"I've got you registered for school."

"Great," I said. "So, which school will I be going to?"

Looking a bit excited, he said, "You're going to Seishun senior high! Sister school of Seishun junior high."

I froze.

"What!" I shouted. "Why the hell am I going there!"

His face fell, and he said, "I thought you would be happy?"

"Seishun was the reason I went to America, oyaji! Why the hell would I want to go there?"

"Well, it's too late to change it now," he said. "Registration for all schools are finished, so you'll just have to deal with it."

My heart sank as I realized there was no way out of it. I didn't want to admit it, but I was scared. I didn't want to see them again. I wasn't ready yet!

* * *

SkyGem: Well, that's chapter three. Do you guys think it was rushed? Please review and tell me what you thought. Oh, and the truth is, the vote was in favor of Ryoma telling Atobe, but, since the two people who said no were pretty convincing, and I just came up with another awesome idea, I decided I'd wait a while before Atobe found out. But don't worry, you don't have to wait that long.


	4. A New Love

SkyGem: Hey guys! I just wanted to thank you all sooo much for all the reviews. Really, I didn't expect this fic to be so popular. Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter!

* * *

**Ryoma**

It was the day before school, and my nerves were strung so tight, I couldn't stay still. Picking up my racket, I decided to go to some local tennis courts for some practice to calm down my nerves.

Once I had arrived at the tennis courts where I had first played doubles with Momoshiro-sempai so long ago, I saw that it had expanded quite a bit, and now had four courts for people to play on. Looking around for someone to play against, I only saw a doubles game going on in one of the courts, and two or three people watching it.

"Hmm, I thought I saw a familiar face."

Turning around, I was faced with a young man, about the same height as me with light brown hair. "Y-Yuuta!"

"Hey," he said. "Wanna play a game?"

Trying not to let the discomfort show on my face, I said, "I'd rather not."

"Oh? Is it because you're afraid I'll beat you?" he asked, trying to provoke me. It worked.

"Hmph, fine. I'll face you, but you better not regret it later."

* * *

"Game and set, Echizen Ryoma. 6 games to love," I said, announcing the end of our game.

Panting and on the ground, Yuuta said, "How…..did you….beat...me…so…fast?"

"What did you think I was doing in America all this time?"

Looking sadly up at me, he said, "Is that why you left us? To train?"

I just stared blankly at him.

"Do you have any idea how upset aniki was?" he asked.

I snorted. "Upset? Yeah right! He's one of the reasons I left."

His eyes widening, he said in a shocked voice, "What?"

I looked at him, almost as shocked. "You mean you don't know?"

"Know what?"

Grimacing at the memory, I said, "Ask him yourself."

Turning around, I was about to make my escape, when the younger Fuji caught my wrist, and said, "Please, Echizen-san. Tell me."

Trying to keep my mask in place as it almost fell to show the turmoil of my emotions, I was about respond to him. Then suddenly, all I could see was an expanse of purple, pushed up close against my face, and a pair of strong arms surrounding me.

"He said to ask him yourself," I heard a familiar voice say. "Now leave him the hell alone," continued Atobe. "Come on, brat," he said softly, pulling me to his limo, which at this moment in time, seemed a haven to me.

Once inside, I finally broke down, and let the mask come off. I cried for what seemed like hours, and Atobe sat quietly through it all, comforting me as I let loose the negative feelings that had been building up these past two years.

When finally I was able to control myself enough to stop crying, it had already been about an hour, and we were parked in front of Atobe's house.

"Come on in," he said.

I followed him into the house and waited quietly as he gave orders to a maid to ready some warm milk for me. This time, instead of going to the guestroom, he led me to his own bedroom, sitting me down on his bed.

We sat quietly for a few minutes in a companionable silence which I was the one to break. Looking up at him through my lashes, I said, "The reason I left two years ago…" I stuttered, then continued on in a steady voice, "is because….." and I told him what had happened. I told him about the scene at the stadium after the nationals, and, when he heard this, his face turned an odd shade of purple.

"Just wait until I get my hands on them!" he said menacingly.

This alarmed me a bit.

"No, Atobe, please don't do anything to them!"

Looking at me, he said, "You still care for them." It wasn't a question.

Hesitatingly, I nodded.

"But you're afraid to meet them again because you think they might hurt you even more."

Again, I nodded. After telling Atobe about the situation, a great weight had been lifted from my chest, but, there was still something. Looking closely at me, Atobe no doubt noticed it.

"There's something you aren't telling me."

Looking up at him, I said, "School…"

His eyes widened, and he said, "You don't mean…"

I nodded.

"But why?" he asked. "Why not Hyotei? Why do you have to go there?"

"My baka oyaji registered me without letting me know. And now, it's too late to change it," I said quietly, sadly.

He was silent for quite a while, so I looked up, and, before I knew it, Atobe had leaned in, and kissed me again. Only this time, it wasn't just a peck on the lips, it was deep and passionate. He wasn't being aggressive, and I could have pushed him off if I wanted to. But the truth was, I didn't **want** to push him off. So, after a surprised second, I kissed him back, and it turned into a full blown make-out session.

When he released me afterwards, keeping his face close to mine, he said in a whispery voice, "If there really is no way to change it, then let me protect you. I'll drop you off, and pick you up after school. You need only call me, and I'll be over in a heartbeat. I'd give my life for you, if only you'd let me…" here he hesitated a bit, then said, "Ryoma."

Hearing him say things like that made my head feel light. I was quiet for a moment, then, letting out a breathless chuckle, I said, "Really, since when have you said such cheesy things…Keigo?"

Smiling, he said, "Only for you."

* * *

SkyGem: So, what did you guys think? Please review and tell me what you thought, and hopefully, I'll be seeing you all soon.


	5. Regret

**Ryoma**

The next morning, my body awoke about an hour or so before the alarm went off, at the exact time I used to wake up for tennis practice 2 years ago. Without any prompting at all, I had fallen back into the habit of waking up early.

When I came downstairs ten minutes later, I was wearing the uniform of my new school, which was very similar to that of its sister school, and my hair was tied back in a tight ponytail, with a few strands loose. "Good morning, okaa-san, oyaji."

Sitting at the table, I ate the breakfast my mother set before me, then, when I was done, I still had some time before I had to leave for school, so I turned on the TV.

When it was finally time to leave, I put on my shoes, said, "Ittekimasu!" and left. As I was leaving, though, I looked down the driveway, and was surprised as hell.

* * *

**Momo**

Riding my bike down the familiar road, I looked at the temple coming up, and, without me giving permission, my body automatically slowed the bike down, as a force of habit. Laughing bitterly, I told myself again, as I had many times before, _No matter how many times you stop by his house, no matter if you do it every day, you're never gonna see him come out that door again. He's never gonna ride the back of your bike again. He's never gonna be your best friend again._

Looking up one more time before I left, I saw the door open. My heart sped up in anticipation, though I knew it wouldn't be him.

"Ittekimasu!" I heard a voice say. A voice that sent shivers up my spine with its familiarity. The time it took him to turn around seemed to move in slow motion for me, and when he did, I let out a small gasp. The round face had lost its baby fat and he had gotten taller, his muscles more prominent, but it was definitely him. I could tell from the emerald tint to his otherwise black hair, and from his large amber eyes. Seeing those eyes, a memory came to me.

_Flashback_

"_Ryoma," I heard Oishi say behind me._

_Whipping around, I saw the young freshman standing there, tears streaming down his face. I had expected to feel relieved when I didn't have to 'pretend' anymore but instead, I just felt guilt. It seemed that, over the past year together, I had unknowingly developed feelings for the kid._

_Watching Ryoma turn and run off, I felt a strong urge to run after him, but restrained myself, thinking, _Let him go. He's more trouble than he's worth

_Naturally, though, the second I got home, I started to regret my actions, and decided to go apologize to him the day after._

_The next day, first thing in the morning, I went over to Ryoma's house to apologize. When his mother answered the door, I said, "Ohayou, Echizen-san. Is Ryoma-kun here?"_

_Looking apologetically at me, she said, "I'm sorry, Momoshiro-san, but Ryoma's already left."_

_Confused, I asked, "Left?"_

_She nodded._

"_He left yesterday to go live in America with his brother."_

"_What?" I asked in a quiet voice._

"_The boy's been through a lot. What happened yesterday really hurt him," she said. _

_I hung my head, ashamed. "I know…I'm sorry," I said numbly. When she didn't reply, I said, "Goodbye."_

"_Goodbye," she said, closing the door._

_For months afterwards, I was absentminded, thinking about the baby of our team._

_End Flashback_

Looking up, Ryoma seemed to have spotted me. His expression grew cold, and I felt a familiar pain rip through my chest. I felt guilt for having hurt him so much as to give him such a cold expression, I felt grief for the lost friendship, but most of all, I felt longing, a longing for those days left far behind, for those days that would never come back.

Giving him a weak smile, I said, "Hey, Echizen."

Not even acknowledging what I said, he turned his eyes away and walked right past me, to a car that had just pulled up.

As the car door opened, Ryoma smiled just the slightest bit before getting in.

* * *

**Ryoma**

Smiling slightly, I got into the car, saying, "You know, you don't really have to pick me up every day."

"Of course I do," replied my new boyfriend.

"But you'll be late for school."

"As long as I get to see you, who cares?" said Atobe, smiling.

"That is so like you," I said, laughing and forgetting for a second what had just happened.

Once I stopped laughing my thoughts returned to the encounter just now and I had to fight not to turn around and look back.

I had been surprised as hell when I came out of the house to see **him** there, and had almost let my mask fall.

"Are you okay?" asked Atobe worriedly.

"It's nothing," I said. "That encounter just shocked me a bit."

"I know what you mean," said Atobe. "Why was he even there?"

"I have no idea…"

* * *

**Momo**

Arriving in class, I went and sat down in my seat beside Kaido. Plopping down tiredly, I let out a sigh.

Looking at me a bit worriedly, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Putting my head in my arms, I said a muffled, "**He's **back."

* * *

SkyGem: Well, this chappi was a bit rushed, and I'm sorry, but please r&r, and I'll see you all soon. (Sorry, but it's almost midnight here, so I really have to go to sleep.)


	6. Confusion

SkyGem: Hey guys! Okay, so I'm am sooooo sorry that this is like two days late, but you see, lately, I've been obsessed with KHR (Katekyo Hitman Reborn), and every time I got on the computer, I would somehow find myself reading it without knowing how it happened. *laughs nervously* But, I was finally able to get away from it long enough to write this chapter. Anyways, on to the chapter!  
_

**Momo**

"**He's** back."

"What?" asked Kaido, shocked.

"You heard me," I said, looking at him, irritated.

"How do you know?"

"I saw him this morning, damnit!"

Growling, he said, "No need to be so prickly."

"Sorry," I replied. "I'm just a little frustrated."

"At him? Or yourself?"

"Myself."

**Ryoma**

"Everyone, before I start today's lesson, I would like to introduce you to our new transfer student," I heard the teacher say from inside the class. "Please come in."

I walked into the class, and there was immediate silence as everyone studied me. I saw many familiar faces from junior high. Bowing, I said, "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

"Everyone, this is Echizen Ryoma-san, who has just returned to Japan from studying abroad in America. Please treat him nicely."

A loud murmuring started up. Suddenly, a loud voice came from the front row of seats. "Echizen! So you're finally back!"

Looking at him, I recognized him immediately. That loud haircut, and stupid looking face, not to mention that unibrow, could only belong to one person(no offense to any fans he might have). "Hey, Horio-san."

"Why the hell did you leave without saying goodbye?"

"Horio-san, please be quiet. Class is about to start. Echizen-kun, please take your seat," said the teacher.

"Yes, sensei," I said, and took my seat, all the while having glares shot in my direction from Horio. The rest of the classes were pretty boring, and before I knew it, gym class had just finished and I was on my way to the cafeteria.

Then, suddenly remembering something I had forgotten in the gym change room, I went back to retrieve it. By the time I arrived there, it was already full of sempai-tachi from the basketball club.

Looking around, I wasn't watching where I was going, so I accidentally bumped into someone.

"Gomen, sempai," I said right away, bowing.

"Oh, it's quite alright," said a kind voice which made me freeze mid-motion.

Slowly straightening up, I looked at the sempai I had bumped into, and saw a face I had half-expected but which still surprised me.

"Oishi-sempai…"

**Oishi**

"Come on, Eiji!" I called to my redhead best friend.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he said, bouncing excitedly.

After he had grabbed his bag, we headed to the gym for basketball practice.

Arriving in the change room, I was putting down my bag, when suddenly a kouhai bumped into me.

Immediately, he bowed, and said, "Gomen, sempai."

"Oh, it's quite alright," I replied. Something about this boy seemed so familiar, but I just couldn't place what it was.

He seemed to freeze for a second, then came out of his bow, looking at me cautiously. Shock crossed his face, and he said, "Oishi-sempai…"

In the moment, I finally realized who he was. "E-Echizen?" I asked.

**Eiji**

"E-Echizen?" I heard Oishi say in disbelief.

"What? What?" I said, excited. Then I saw the still form in front of him. A freshman with green-black hair, and amber eyes. Excited, I shouted, "Ochibi-chan!"

Wrapping him in a tight bearhug, it felt just like old times, well, except for the facts that he wasn't quite as small as before, and had bigger muscles.

Then, suddenly, my arms had been pushed away, and Ryoma was a distance away, staring at me with a cold expression. "Don't. Touch. Me."

I could only stare. Was this really my ochibi-chan? What had happened to him? "O-Ochibi-chan?"

His only response was to pick up a book from one of the shelves, and turn and walk away.

I looked at Oishi, scared. "What happened to him?"

He just showed a pained expression. "Eiji, I think we did that to him."

Looking away, I rushed out into the hall after Ryoma, looking wildly around. Then, when I spotted him, I ran up to him, and caught him by the shoulder. "Wait! Please, Ryoma-kun!"

Looking at me with emotionless eyes, he said, "What do you want, **sempai**?" The sempai layered with tension.

"I'm sorry, Ryoma-kun! I'm so sorry!"

He just stared back. Not responding, so I continued.

"Okay, I know that what we did was completely out of line, and we shouldn't have tricked you, but you have to believe me when I say that, all those laughs and fun times we had together weren't lies! I may have been pretending at first, but soon, I saw what a great friend you were! And the feelings I was pretending became real! Please believe me!" I said, almost in tears.

His expression faltered for a second, then he hardened his features, and said, "Then what about all those things you guys said after the tournament?"

This time, I really did start crying. He looked taken aback.

"That was what the others said! We would never say anything like that about you!"

At this point, his mask of cold fell away to show the suffering of one who has lost almost everything. "Then why didn't you say anything?" he asked. "Why didn't you defend me!"

I looked away, ashamed at myself.

"Because we're weak," I heard Oishi say from behind me. Turning around, I saw that he was also crying. "We wanted to be accepted by the others. But, when we finally realized how wrong we had been, you had already left Japan. We gave up tennis and stopped hanging out with the others. We joined the basketball club to take up all the extra time. Please, Ryoma, believe us when we say we're sorry."

**Ryoma**

"…..Ryoma, believe us when we say we're sorry," I heard him say, all the time tears streaming non-stop down his face. His words confused me. All this time, I had hated him, hated **them**, and now he came and told me something completely different. What was I supposed to believe?

I looked at their tear-streaked faces again, and was surprised at how much I wanted to believe them. I wanted to believe that they really cared for me, that they were really my friends. But, these past two years of playing turtle had made it hard for me to come out of my shell, it made it hard for me to accept their apologies, to believe them.

"I'll think about it…" I said in response to Oishi's plea. Then, whipping around, I ran off, towards the staircase, and up to the roof so that I could think.

Once I got there, I locked the door, and slid down to the floor, letting the sobs rack through my body. What was I supposed to do?  
_

SkyGem: So, that's chapter 6! ^_^ So, what do you guys think? Should Ryoma forgive those two yet? Tell me what you think, and why. The outcome will depend on who could convince me better than the others.


	7. Forgive and Forget

SkyGem: Hey all! Thanks soooooooo much for all the reviews. Anyways, the result of the vote from the last chapter was completely one-sided. It was a landslide victory, and you'll see the result in this chapter. I hope you all like it. ^_^. Also, to the user CoffeeTea, technically, both spellings of the word are correct. Sempai can be spelled both ways, since, even though it would be spelled senpai in Japanese, it is pronounce sempai, so both spellings are considered as correct.  
_

**Ryoma**

After I had finally calmed down and stopped crying, my eyes were red and puffy, and school was already over. Putting on my favorite white fila cap, I left my refuge, and headed downstairs, avoiding contact with anyone.

Heading for the outrageously flashy car which had become familiar to me these past few weeks, I climbed in and to the safety of Atobe's arms.

"Tough day?" he asked as his driver headed to my house.

I nodded into his chest, and slowly drifted off into a tired sleep.

**Atobe**

Smiling down at Ryoma's sleeping form, I gently took off his hat, and was surprised to see the skin around his eyes was puffy and red. Worry creasing my brow, I wondered what could have made him cry so much as to make his eyes such an angry red color.

"We have arrived, Atobe-sama," said the driver from the seat.

"Thank you, Sebastian," I said.

Deciding to let Ryoma sleep, I picked him up and carried him up to the temple.

I knocked on the door, and, within seconds, a pretty young lady who looked to be a few years older than me answered. "Oh," she exclaimed in surprise when she saw me holding Ryoma. "Please, do come in…..umm…"

"Atobe, Keigo," I supplied.

"Yes, please come in, Atobe-san."

I walked in and the girl, Nanako-san, showed me to Ryoma's room. Gently laying him down on his bed, I looked around the room.

Suddenly, I was attacked by a small, furry body. Looking down, I saw a white and brown Himalayan cat purring in my arms. Smiling, I said, "Hey, Karupin"

I stroked her back and she purred harder. I sat down on the floor, and played with her, waiting for Ryoma to wake up.

**Ryoma**

Opening my eyes, I found myself staring at my bedroom ceiling. Confused as to how I had gotten to my bedroom, I slowly got up, looking around.

The room was empty, and the door open. Grabbing a rubber band from my bedside table, I tied my hair into a messy ponytail, and headed downstairs. When I got there, I heard laughter coming from the living room.

Walking in, I saw Atobe, sitting on the sofa, talking to my dad, and Karupin on his lap. As soon as I walked in, Karupin jumped up and came up to me, rubbing herself against my legs and purring.

Ignoring her, I walked over to Atobe, gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Hey sleepyhead," he said, pulling me into his lap. Even though I was taller than I had grown these past few years, he was still quite a bit bigger than me.

My father just kept smiling the whole time, and his only response to all this was to laugh and say, "Now, now, you two, leave the honeymooning until after you're married."

I blushed and shouted , "Oyaji!"

Chuckling softly, Atobe said softly, "Just calm down, brat."

Pouting sulkily, I said, "Whatever. So, what are you doing here?"

Smirking, he said, "Well, after you fell asleep, I didn't feel like waking you up, so I brought you up to your room, then came downstairs to became more acquainted with your father."

After he was done saying all this, he shot a meaningful glance at my father who responded with a laugh, and said, "Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone now."

After he had left, Atobe pulled me closer, and said, "So, what happened at school today?"

At first, I was confused, then realized what he must be talking about. "I met Eiji-sempai and Oishi-sempai."

**Atobe**

"I met Eiji-sempai and Oishi-sempai."

"And?" I asked, knowing there was more.

"And they apologized," he said.

"What?" I asked, confused.

His voice wavered when he next spoke. "They said they were sorry for what they did and…"

I listened calmly as he explained what had happened and what they had said.

"So, what are you going to do? Are you going to forgive them?"

"I don't know! Keigo, what should I do?"

Seating him on the sofa, I looked into his eyes, and said, "Listen, you have no idea how much I want to say that you should completely forget about them and never talk to them again, but that would only make you miserable. So instead, I'll say, you should do whatever you think is right."

"What I think is right?"

"Think, Ryoma. You know them better than I do. Do you think they were telling the truth? That they should be forgiven?"

"I don't know!"

"Then how about this, do you **want** to forgive them?"

He stared at me, and I knew the answer without him having to say a thing. Slowly, hesitantly, he nodded.

"But what if they do the same thing again?" he asked, looking panicked.

Sighing, I said, "Look, Ryoma, I know that what they did was terrible, and that you're scared, but you've got to come out of your shell sometime, because even though not getting close to anyone will stop you from getting hurt, it will also make you lonely. Nothing worth having comes without a price."

His eyes when they looked into mine had finally lost their frightened look, and he nodded.

I smiled, and leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. "And remember, if anything happens, I'll be here."

Laughing softly, he said lightly, "And I thought you were trying to make me feel better?"

At this, I just laughed, relieved that he was okay enough to joke around.

**Ryoma**

The next day, as soon as gym was over, I headed to the cafeteria and got in the lunch line.

After I had gotten my lunch, I looked around for a place to sit.

Among the sea of students, a flash of red stood out. Looking closer, I recognized it to be Eiji-sempai and Oishi-sempai, sitting together at a lunch table with a few other third years.

Taking a deep breath, I headed over, butterflies in my stomach.

I was halfway there when Eiji looked up and spotted me. His eyes widened as he saw me coming towards him. He turned to Oishi, who was sitting beside him, and turned to stare at me.

I hesitated a second, then, Oishi shot me a happy smile, gesturing me to come over, and all my nervousness disappeared.

It seemed completely natural for me to head over to their table, and set my tray down. It seemed completely natural to smile at them, albeit nervously, and say, "Hello." And it seemed completely natural to let Eiji glomp me, and nearly suffocate me in the process.

And, for the first time in years, I was genuinely happy.  
_

SkyGem: Well, that's it. So, did you like it? Please review and tell me what you thought, and I'll see y'all next time! ^_^


	8. Another Allie?

**Ryoma**

School was over, and I was heading home when suddenly, I was attacked from behind. A pair of arms wrapped around my neck, and cut off all my airways and I couldn't breathe.

"Ochibi-chan!" I suddenly heard my attacker say.

"Let go of him, Eiji! He's suffocating!" I heard Oishi say as he came up to us.

Immediately, the Eiji let go of me and stepped back. "Nya, gomen, ochibi-chan."

Turning to glare at him, I said, "What do you want?"

"Ne, ne, Oishi, ochibi-chan is being scary," whined Eiji.

I just sighed, and looked pointedly at Oishi, hoping he would answer my question.

He just smiled and said, "We were just going to go over to Taka's place and were wondering if you wanted to come along?"

"T-Taka-sempai?" I said. "Umm, I'm…..busy.."

"Aww, come on! Please ochibi-chan?" asked Eiji, making puppy eyes at me.

Giving up, I said, "Fine! I'll come."

Bouncing around excitedly, Eiji said, "Yay! Ochibi-chan is coming! Taka-chan is gonna be sooo happy!"

"Whatever," I said, pouting sulkily.

"Let's go, let's go!"

**Momo**

I was just walking out of the school, when suddenly a sempai bumped into me, and didn't even stop to apologize. "Oi! Watch out!" I shouted after him

Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I turned and saw Oishi-sempai standing there. "Sempai?" I asked.

He nodded, and said, "Momoshiro-san, I'm sorry that Eiji bumped into you. He's just a bit hyper today."

Then he just turned and left. Looking in the direction in which he was heading, I was just in time to see Eiji attack what looked to be a freshman.

"Ochibi-chan!" I heard him shout.

Shocked, I watched what was happening, getting closer to hear what they were saying.

"Let go of him, Eiji! He's suffocating!" I heard Oishi say as he went up to them.

I watched as Eiji let go of him, and apologized, and my heart ached. This scene was just so familiar, and it hurt to not be a part of it. As had happened many times before, Ryoma got mad at Eiji, then Eiji went and hid behind Oishi.

"Were just going to go over to Taka's place and were wondering if you wanted to come along?" I heard him ask.

Taka's place? This hurt even more. It had been so long since I had been there, and I really missed the afternoons we would spend there after school, just hanging around.

I was brought out of my thoughts by Eiji shouting, "Let's go! Let's go!"

I watched as they walked off towards the restaurant.

**Taka**

"Oi! Takashi! You're friends are here to see you!" I heard my dad call.

Going downstairs, I saw three familiar faces. Two of them were not so surprising, as I had last seen them only yesterday, but the third was completely unexpected.

Looking at his sulky face, with it's bright amber eyes, and not-so-chubby-anymore cheeks, and it felt as if I had been taken back in time.

"E-Echizen!" I called.

Looking a bit uncomfortable, he smiled unsurely, and said, "Hello, Taka-sempai."

I smiled back and said, "Welcome. Would you guys like anything to eat?"

"Yea! I want some!" shouted Eiji right away, while Oishi said a polite, "Yes please," and Echizen just shook his head no, not saying anything.

"Okay, I'll be back in a second," I said, and was about to turn away, when my father said, "Don't worry, I'll do it. Echizen-san hasn't been around for a while now. You have some catching up to do."

Smiling, he turned, and walked away.

Deciding it would be impossible to argue with him, I just called to them, "Come on up, you guys. We'll talk upstairs."

The others following, I made my way upstairs, and got them to sit down.

"So Taka-san, why weren't you at school today?" asked Oishi curiously.

Scratching the back of my head sheepishly, I said, "Well, I had a slight fever when I woke up this morning and otou-san insisted I stay home and rest, but it's cooled down now, so I'm fine."

"Ah, that's good."

There was a moment of awkward silence, then Ryoma turned to me and said, "So Taka-sempai, you've quit tennis?"

Nodding, I said, "Yes. It was always my intention to quit when I began high school, and you know, the team just isn't right without everyone there."

Hearing this, Ryoma first looked a bit confused, the blushed slightly, and I was glad to see that he hadn't changed so much. He still couldn't take compliments.

At that moment, my dad brought up a plate of sushi for Oishi and Eiji, then turned to Ryoma and with a smile said, "And if I remember correctly, Echizen-san's favorite was grape Ponta?"

Smiling happily, he said an embarrassed, "Arigatou," taking the can from my father.

After that, the talk was much more natural, and we were having fun, just like in junior high. About half an hour later, Ryoma's phone suddenly rang.

Picking it up, he said, "Moshi moshi?"

A second passed, then he said, "Eh? Keigo? Gomen, I completely forgot."

Another pause, then, "I'm at Taka-sempai's place."

And then, after one more pause, "Ah, hai. Ja, ne."

Hanging up, he said, "Gomen, minna-san. I have to go now."

Curious, I asked him, "Who was on the phone just now?"

"Atobe Keigo."

Surprised, I said, "You're on a first name basis with Atobe-san?"

Looking at me oddly, he paused for a second, then said, "Keigo and I are going out."  
_

SkyGem: I am sooo sorry it took so long to update! Please forgive me! I've been pre-occupied with all my other fanfics. Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought.


	9. You're Dating WHO?

SkyGem: Okay, before I do anything else, I would like to thank Ranni, elsey951, MintLeafeon, Amy-sama90, Debichibi-chan, Pri-chan 1410, Ange-4n931, DixiePixie2011, MeLaNY8, xXxOtAkU-444xXx, and .rain., and everyone else who reviewed for helping me pass the 100 reviews mark. I honestly never thought this would be so popular, so thank you all! Now, enough of my babbling, and let us get on to the story!  
_

**Atobe**

"Well, see you all later," I said to my teammates.

"What?" asked Oshitari. "It's only the second day back, and you've already skipped practice both days. What's so important that you would miss tennis practice?"

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly, and said, "I got myself a boyfriend."

"WHAT!" came the unified cry of all the people close enough to have heard me, which included all 7 of the other regulars. They all looked at me, stupefied. I nearly laughed out loud at their reaction.

"And his name's Echizen Ryoma," I said, seeing if I could get the same response.

It was louder.

Not only did the entire tennis club hear, and shout, this time(which was quite a feat, what with there being over 300 students in our club), but Jirou actually looked awake for once, long enough to turn to stone, as did the other regulars, and pretty much everyone else on the field, except for Kabaji, who already knew, and had become quite close with him.

This time, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Why are you going out with that brat? He's on the Seigaku team!" Gakuto shouted.

"Hey!" I said, a little irritated. "I'm the only one allowed to call him a brat!"

"Fine, then why are you going out with that **shorty**?" he said.

"That's better!"

**Oshitari**

Watching as Atobe and Gakuto bickered, a sweatdrop appeared on my forehead. How was shorty any better than brat?

"You still haven't answered my question!" Gakuto said.

"Because I love him! Is that not obvious?"

I was stunned. Never before had I heard Atobe say that he loved anyone other than himself, not even his hundreds of previous girlfriends. The key word being **girlfriend**.

"But he's on the Seigaku team!" Gakuto repeated.

At this, the look on Atobe's face darkened, and he said, "He's not anymore."

This made me curious. Why would the mention of the Seigaku team make Atobe so upset?

"Atobe, why-" I started, but was interrupted.

"None of your business," he said in a clipped tone. I had never hear him use that tone with any of us before, and it worried me. Something terrible must have happened, and I didn't want to think what. Although Seigaku were our rivals, it was more of a friendly rivalry, and it was hard to see any of our Seigaku friends doing anything that bad, especially to the beloved baby of their team.

"Now, I've got to go, or I'll be late." And with that, he turned around, and walked back to his car, and within seconds, it had sped off, and was out of sight.

**Now, back with Taka**

"Keigo and I are going out."

I stared at him blankly, not able to comprehend what he had just said.

Meanwhile, Oishi had had a heart attack, and Eiji had just done a genuine spit take.

When I was finally able to get the words out, I said, "G-going out?"

He nodded.

"Since when?"

"About 3 days."

"Good to know," I said in a subdued voice, unable to think of what else to say.

Looking a bit worried, he said, "Are you okay, sempai?"

I nodded. "Just a bit surprised."

Hearing this, he got a funny look on his face, as if he were trying to hold back laughter. Then, looking at the clock on the wall, he said, "Keigo will be here soon. I've got to go now."

"Good bye, Echizen, see you tomorrow."

Turning to look at me, Eiji, and Oishi, he smiled shyly, and said, "Thank you, sempai-tachi. See you tomorrow."

And with that, he was gone. About 10 minutes after he had left, Oishi and Eiji finally came out of their shock, seeming surprised as to where Ryoma had gone, as I watched, a sweatdrop forming on my forehead.

**Ryoma**

Hopping into the car, I said, "Hey. Sorry I forgot to call you."

"No problem," he said. "So, I'm guessing it all went well?"

I beamed happily at him. "Really well."

He looked a little worried, then said, "Make sure you don't trust them too much prematurely."

A little defensive, I said, "I know that!"

He jus laughed, and said, "Of course you do," and we moved onto lighter topics.

About twenty minutes later, we arrived at our destination, the mall. Keigo wanted to look for something special to where to his 18th birthday party in a few weeks, and, I had somehow gotten dragged into the equation too. He wanted to choose what I was going to wear.

After browsing around, we didn't find anything particularly to our liking, so Keigo just ordered a black tuxedo with a red silk vest, and black and red striped tie made for himself, and a pure white tuxedo with a dark green vest, and a jade green tie for me.

We were on our way out, when I heard a shout from behind me.

"Why the hell do I have to be here anyways?"

Turning around, I saw a familiar, curly haired fellow, a year older than me.

**Kirihara**

"Ne, could you lower your voice? You're disturbing the other shoppers," I heard a familiar, cocky voice remark from behind me.

I turned around, and surely enough, there was Echizen Ryoma in all his glory, an arrogant expression on his face.

Surprised, I shouted, "What are you doing here?"

Looking irritated, he said, "I thought I asked you to lower your voice?"

"Fine!" I said, lowering my voice a great deal. "Happy? Now, tell me what you're doing here!"

"I'm on a date with my boyfriend."

"Not that! I meant what are you…WHAT!" I shouted, finally noticing Atobe Keigo, standing behind Echizen.

"Y-you! Y-you're? Since when? How?" I stuttered, barely coherent.

He smirked. "Well, to answer your questions, I came back about a week ago, and Keigo and I started dating 3 days ago."

I stared at him, mouth agape.

"I wonder why everyone keeps doing that? If you don't close your mouth, your going to swallow a fly," he said in a teasing tone.

"Why you little!" I shouted, setting off after him, bickering as if two whole years hadn't passed.  
_

SkyGem: So, you like it? Please review, and I'll see you all in two days or so.


	10. The Truth Unveils

**Fujii**

"Aniki," I heard a voice call from my doorway.

Turning to look at Yuuta, I smiled my signature smile, and asked, "Yes? Is something wrong?"

"I saw Echizen a few days ago."

I froze. "What?" I asked incredulously. "Where?"

"At the public courts. He seemed pretty…different."

I didn't say anything, thinking back to the day we won the nationals. The last day we spent as a team.

Yuuta just stared at me with a calculating expression on his face, then asked, "What did you guys do to him?"

"What?" the question caught me off guard.

"To Ryoma. What did you guys do to him?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said.

"Onii-san, I know that face. You're hiding something, aren't you?"

I didn't reply, instead I rolled onto my back, and stared at the ceiling, thinking back to that fateful day…

_Flashback_

_"Finally," said Kaido. "You know, I was kind of skeptical at first, but the brat really did get us the nationals."_

_I was about to chastise him for his mean words, then saw flicker of movement from the corner of my eye. It was Ryoma. _

_"Yeah, he did. Now, can we kick him off the team yet, buchou?" I fake whined._

_Tezuka looked at me questioningly from the corner of his eye, then seemed to notice Ryoma. _

_"Of course," he said. "He's done his job, he's no longer useful to us. We can just tell him to focus on the grand slams, aim higher or something."_

_"Good riddance," said Momo in an un-Momo-like tone. "You have no idea how tired I am of pretending I actually care for him. Best friends? Yeah right! My only best friend is Mamushi. Isn't that right?"_

_Slinging his arm around Momo's shoulder in a way I hadn't seen in months, Kaido said, "That's right. I can't believe he actually thinks that we care for him."_

_It was hard for me to just stand there and let them say stuff like that about Ryoma, but I had to do it. For his sake._

_Suddenly, I heard a small sob from Ryoma's general direction. Alarmed, I turned and saw his face streaked with tears. _

_"Ryoma," said Oishi, reaching out towards him._

_He just jerked away from, then turned around and left. By now, everyone was watching, stunned looks on their faces._

_It took all I had not to run after him. As it was, Tezuka had to put a restraining hand on my shoulder to get me to stay._

* * *

_Later, at the party, there was a heavy mood hanging over our group. We decided to split up early, and everyone went home after only an hour at Taka's father's restaurant._

_As I was walking home with Kunimitsu, I almost broke into tears quite a few times._

_Arriving at my house, I turned to look at my friend before going in. "We did the right thing, didn't we?"_

_He didn't seem to have the answer, and I turned and went inside without saying goodbye._

_End Flashback_

Feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes, I looked over at my little brother.

"If you loved someone, you'd do what was best for them, wouldn't you? Even if you couldn't survive without them, wouldn't you let them go, if you thought that they would be happier that way?"

He just stared at me as my tears spilled onto my cheeks. Turning my head so that he couldn't see my crying face anymore, I laughed bitterly. "But what would you do if, instead of helping them like you had intended, you hurt them more than you could possibly imagine? Would text him a hundred times a day, apologizing for what you've done? Would you call him every chance you got, in the hopes that he might finally pick up so that you could apologize again? Would you send him emails and handwritten letters, repenting for what you have done? And what would you do if he didn't forgive you? What would you do if he never returned your calls or replied to your texts, and returned all your letters? Then what would you do?"

Yuuta seemed bewildered, not able to say anything.

"I-I'm sorry," I said, my voice wavering. "C-can you please leave me alone? I've got studying to do."

It was quiet for a moment, then I heard the door gently close and the soft padding of Yuuta's feet, walking down the hallway to his own room.

Falling back onto my bed, I just stared listlessly at the ceiling. I stayed like that for a long time, and before I knew it, I had drifted off into a fitful sleep.

* * *

**Kaido**

As the tennis ball rushed past me once again, I threw down my racquet in frustration. What was wrong with me? Stalking off the court, I sat on a bench with my towel on my head, hissing loudly, daring anyone to approach me.

Suddenly, my towel was removed, and I felt something cold pressed against my cheek.

Glaring up at the person who had disturbed me, I saw that it was Momo.

"What do you want, momoshiri?"

"Why so touchy, mamushi?" he asked, sitting down beside me.

I didn't reply, opening up the drink, and chugging it down.

Sighing, he said, "I bet I know why your tennis is so lousy today. You're thinking about the gaki, aren't you?"

I hissed loudly at him, "Why would I be thinking about that obnoxious brat?"

"Easy," he said in an annoyingly cheerful tone. "Because you miss him."

"Like hell I do!" I shouted, effectively claiming the attention of everyone within a 3 meter radius.

He laughed. "You do. And so do I. Wanna help me apologize to him?"

I hesitated, then finally said, "Whatever."

Pumping his fist in the air in a celebratory manner, he shouted, "Yoshi! Ikuzo!"

* * *

SkyeSyren: Ah, it's all starting to make sense, isn't it? Lol, anyways, sorry for taking so long to update. Please review, and tell me what you thought of this chapter, and until next time, ciao!


	11. A Chance of Salvation

**Tezuka**

Looking over at Fuji, I couldn't help but feel concerned. Ever since he had walked into the class at the beginning of the period, he had been upset. His usual smile was gone, and he had his eyes wide open, scaring the hell out of the rest of the class. As soon as class was over, everyone rushed out to lunch, eager to be away from the obviously disgruntled tensai.

"Is there something wrong, Fuji?" I asked.

He just sighed, and looked down. Then, as he looked back up and met my eyes, I could see traces of tears in them.

"Fuji!" I exclaimed, alarmed. "What happened?"

He raised his hands in a gesture of defeat, attempting a smile. "Yuuta told me yesterday that **he**'s back."

I looked at him disbelievingly. "What? Really? Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I think it was to go to high school here in Japan, but I don't know which school it is."

While we were talking, we both had gotten up subconsciously and were now on our way to the cafeteria. Putting a hand on his shoulder, I tried to comfort him. "Fuji, it wasn't your fault. You were just trying to help him. You were ready for him to be upset when you made your decision, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but not so upset that he would cry!" he burst out. Then, lowering his voice, he said, "Buchou, I can't stand it! I've never seen him cry like that before. And to think that I was the one that caused those tears, it's unbearable!"

"Fuji, first of all, just calm down," I said. When he was considerably calmer than before, I opened my mouth to talk again, when we were interrupted by a freshman bumping into me.

Immediately, he bowed and said, "Gomenasai, sempai-tachi."

As they walked off, I couldn't help but overhear a part of their conversation. "But it's not fair that the third-years are treating that transfer student so nicely. I mean, he's just a freshman, why should he get their respect? They don't even know him," said one of them.

"Oh! You mean the one with the green hair and amber eyes, right? The tennis prodigy?" supplied the other.

It took a minute for what they had just said to register, and when it did, I could hardly believe what I had just heard.

"It can't be…" said Fuji, trailing off. Bursting through the cafeteria door, his gaze raked over the crowds of teens eating their lunch and chatting loudly. When I heard a small gasp, I knew that he had found him.

Coming up behind Fuji, I followed his gaze, and saw **him** sitting with the third years from the basketball, including Oishi, Eiji, and Taka. **He** was Echizen Ryoma, Seigaku junior high's former super rookie. He was laughing and chatting with Eiji and the others, and it felt wrong not to be there with him. Instead of the basketball team regulars sitting with him right now, it should be the Seigaku tennis regulars.

As I watched, Momoshiro approached them with Kaido following hesitatingly behind. As the two approached, Echizen looked up, and I saw his expression harden, immediately signalling that he had yet to forgive them. Momo seemed unaware of Echizen's hostility and smiled brightly, saying something in a loud voice. We were too far away to hear what was being said, but by the time he was finished speaking, Ryoma's cold expression had changed to one of confusion, and a hint of curiosity.

Turning to look at Oishi, Eiji, and Taka, he said something, and they nodded. After a small discussion, Ryoma turned back to Momo and nodded his consent to whatever he had requested, and Momo pumped his fist in the air in a celebratory fashion. Turning around, he threw one last thing over his shoulder.

* * *

**Momo**

"Yoshi! Found them!" I shouted, pulling Kaido after me towards the table where Ryoma was sitting with Oishi, Eiji, Taka, and the basketball team.

As I approached them, Ryoma looked up, and frowned, throwing me a purely hostile look. Ignoring the shiver that ran down my spine at that moment, I smiled brightly and greeted them in a loud voice. "Ohayo Ryoma!"

"What do you want?" he asked, clearly not wanting to talk to us.

"I want to play a game!"

He looked at me, confused. "What?"

"Tennis!" I said. "I want a tennis match!"

"Why?" he asked. The hostility was now completely gone. Now he was just plain confused.

"Two reasons. One, I want to see how strong you are now. I sure hope you didn't let your skills get rusty. And two, if I win, you have to listen to what I have to say after the game."

"What's in it for me?" he asked.

I smiled. "If you win, I'll treat you to burgers at our favourite restaurant."

He looked over at the other three, said a few words to them, then turned back to me and said. "When I when you'll have to treat Eiji-sempai, Oishi-sempai, and Taka-sempai too."

I laughed. He was still the same Echizen who couldn't resist the allure of food. "You mean if, you cheeky brat."

"Keep dreaming, momoshiri," he said.

I bit back a retort. "Anyways, be at the school courts right after school, got that?"

"Won't the buchou be mad?" he asked.

"Who? Tezuka-sempai? Naw, he'll be fine with it."

He didn't seem at all surprised that Tezuka was the buchou, instead saying, "Whatever then. If he makes us run laps, you're running all of ours."

Laughing, I turned to leave, throwing over my shoulder, "You better not forget!"

* * *

SkyeSyren: So, what did you think of this chapter? Do you think Kaido and Momo are going to be forgiven? **Should** they be forgiven yet? And what about Tezuka and Fuji? And where's Inui in all of this? Next chapter isn't quite planned out yet, so if you have any ideas, send them in and I'll give them some consideration. Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought and I'll see you next time! Ciao!

P.S. The more reviews I get, the faster I update, so click that little green button at the bottom of the page, and make this author happy.


	12. Group Hug!

**Ryoma**

The bell signalling the end of school had just rung, and I was walking with my sempai-tachi (Oishi, Eiji and Taka of course) towards the tennis courts. I had butterflies in my stomach, I was so nervous.

"Nya, ochibi-chan! Are you okay?" asked Eiji, throwing his arms around me worriedly.

"I'm fine," I said, brushing his arms away. Then, hesitatingly, I admitted, "Just a little nervous."

Putting his hand on my arm, Oishi said, "Ryoma-kun, if you don't want to play, you don't have to."

Looking over at him, I smiled weakly. "Maybe it's just me being too trusting again, but you know, I'm so tired. Tired of being mad. If they're really sorry, maybe I'll forgive them." I blinked back tears. "I just want to be together with everyone again. I miss being a team, a family. Is that wrong?" I asked, looking back at the three of them.

"Aww, that's not wrong, ochibi-chan! That's just being human!" said Eiji, throwing his arms around me again, and this time, I didn't resist, instead leaning against him, taking comfort from his warmth. Closing my eyes, I felt a hot tear roll down my face. Immediately, I wiped it harshly away.

Looking worried, Taka asked me, "Are you okay, Ryoma-kun? Do you want one of us to play for you?"

I shook my head no. "I can do this myself. Let's go."

After putting my hat back on, we resumed our trek back to the courts. When I caught sight of the courts, I felt as if I had been transported back in time. The courts looked just like the ones at the junior high, and there were many tennis team members scattered around one of the courts, awaiting the upcoming match.

As soon as everyone spotted me, a loud cheering broke out, and I heard a familiar, "Ryoma-sama!"

Turning around, I caught sight of Tomo and Sakuno, still looking relatively the same. I flashed them a smile and Tomo started squealing happily.

Walking onto the court, I saw that Momo was already there and smiled in anticipation. Out of nowhere a referee, probably a freshman, appeared and started the match.

"Three games all!" called the referee. I was about to serve when we were interrupted.

"You two underclassmen! Unauthorized use of the courts is not permitted!"

Turning around, I saw a third-year I didn't recognize who was wearing the tennis teams regulars jersey. He was about as tall as Oishi-sempai, had short, curly, black hair; and dark brown eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked.

* * *

**Usui**(OC)

"Show some respect, brat. I'm the fuku-buchou," I said in reply to his question.

The freshman looked at me disbelievingly, then turned to Momoshiro. "How did someone like him become fuku-buchou?"

Momoshiro shrugged and said, "Well, since Oishi-sempai, Eiji-sempai, and Taka-sempai refused to stay on the tennis team after you left, we needed three replacements. Naturally, they aren't anywhere near as strong as you guys, but they're the ones that won the ranking tournaments."

"Why didn't one of the others become the fuku-buchou?"

"Fuji-sempai finds it boring, and Inui-sempai is too busy."

By this time, I was fuming. "Fifty laps around the field!" I shouted at them. When neither moved, I was about to shout again but was interrupted.

"And since when do you have the authority to do that?" asked a voice from behind me and I froze.

Turning around, I saw Tezuka and said, "These two were using the courts without permission. I was just giving them a suitable punishment."

He just glared at me, then said, "Ten laps."

I blinked in confusion. "What?"

"You heard me," he said. "Ten laps. Right now."

"What? Why!" I shouted. Fuji, who was standing behind him, shot me a glare and I felt a shiver run down my spine. Without a word, I turned around and began my laps.

When I finished, I went over to Arai, another of our team's regulars, and he looked at me with a weird expression on his face.

"You should have just left them alone," he said. "You don't know because you went to a different junior high, but the guy that Momoshiro was playing against was Echizen Ryoma, he was one of the regulars that brought Seigaku to the nationals three years ago in junior high."

"What? Him? But he's just a freshman!" I nearly shouted.

"Yes, but he's possibly the strongest of them all," said Arai, shocking me. "In his freshman year of junior high, he defeated Momo, Kaido, and Inui-sempai in the ranking matches. Even back then he was considered to be on par with Fuji-sempai and Tezuka-sempai, and has been studying in America these past two years. He's undoubtedly become much better."

I just stood there, staring at Arai with my mouth gaping.

"Looks like we might lose our places as regulars," I heard a voice say from behind me and turned to see Natsume behind me. The redhead was frowning.

"The Golden Pair and Kawamura-san were back there too. Are they all joining the tennis team?"

"Of course not!" I said, a slight bit hysteric at the thought of losing my place as a regular. "Right?" I asked, turning to Arai.

* * *

**Ryoma**

"What do you guys want?" I asked Tezuka, not looking him in the eyes. Despite what I had said earlier, I still wasn't ready to forgive him or Fuji-sempai yet. I had respected them both a great deal and it had come as a great blow to me when I had found out that they were just using me, especially since the two of them seemed to be the ones behind everything.

"Students not of the tennis team are not permitted to use the facilities," said Tezuka in his usual strict voice. "Echizen-san, this time is a warning, but please do refrain from doing this in the future." Turning to Momo, he said, "And you, Momoshiro-san, know full well other students are not to use the courts. The penalty is twenty laps around the field."

Momo looked from me to Tezuka, seeming unsure of something, but then looked straight at Tezuka-sempai and said, "Sumimasen, sempai, but I can not do that."

"And why is that?"

Taking a deep breath, Momo said, "Because, as of this moment, I wish to resign from the team."

I stared at him, my eyes wide, as he bowed once to the speechless Tezuka, then walked away. I was about to chase after him when Kaido, who had been quiet during this whole ordeal, walked up to Tezuka and said, "I, too, would like to resign from the team, buchou. I apologize for the short notice." Bowing once, he walked towards us and put his hand on my head in an affectionate gesture I had never seen him perform. "Accept this as my apology, brat."

I stared at him, unable to talk. Then, turning my eyes to Momo, I saw that he was smiling. When he noticed me staring at him, his expression quickly became serious and he bowed low in my direction, leaving me flustered. Coming out of the bow, he looked up at me and said, "Ryoma, I know I can be really stupid at times, and don't always mean what I say, but please believe me when I tell you that I didn't mean a thing of what I said that day! Sure, at the beginning I was pretending, but over time, I really did begin to like you! A lot!"

* * *

**Momo**

Finishing what I had to say, I cast my eyes to the ground, not able to look him in the eyes. I expected a refusal, but instead, I heard a laugh. Looking up, I saw that it had been Ryoma that had laughed, and this confused.

"You know, Eiji-sempai said nearly the exact same thing." He gave a little laugh, saying, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you guys were plotting together."

Looking up, I began, "No! I really mean-"

I broke off when I saw the expression on his face. He was attempting a smile, probably trying to make a joke, but his eyes were full of tears.

"Ryoma-kun," I said, reaching out to him, then pulling my hand back, hesitating.

I was unsure of what to do, but Eiji interrupted, shouting, "Group hug!"

Before I was able to respond to this, Eiji had pulled both me and Ryoma into a tight hug. Hearing Ryoma laugh, a real laugh this time, I knew I had been forgiven and I crushed him in a bearhug I hadn't used for two years now. A hug reserved especially for him.

* * *

**Kaido**

As Eiji and Momo unleashed another of their glomp attacks on an unsuspecting Ryoma, I hesitated, standing back, unsure of what to do. Obviously, Momo had been forgiven, but that didn't mean I had as well.

As soon as the two of them let go of him, Ryoma turned to me, and smiled.

"Ne, Kaido-sempai, would you like to come over to my house some time? Karupin really misses you."

Trying not to let my relief show, I turned my head to hide the smile that was creeping onto my face. "Che, I guess it wouldn't hurt."

* * *

SkyeSyren: Yay! A relatively long chapter! Didya like it? Didya didya didya? Review and tell me what you thought! Remember, the more reviews I get, the faster I update ^_^.


	13. Meeting the Boyfriend

**Atobe**

Waiting for Ryoma to pick up his cell, I wondered what was taking him so long. He usually picked up in the first three rings.

Finally, I heard a click, and voice came on, saying, "Moshi moshi?"

Not recognising the voice, I asked, "Who is this? Why do you have Ryoma's phone?"

There was a pause on the other line, then the person said, "Nya, I'm Eiji Kikumaru, Ryoma's sempai! And you are?"

"Ore-sama is Atobe Keigo, his boyfriend. Where is he?"

"Atobe-san!" he said loudly. Then, in a significantly lower voice, "Sorry, but Ryoma-kun can't come to the phone right now, he's playing a game with Momo-chan.

I felt a smile tug at my lips. "Okay then. Can you tell him that ore-sama can't come pick him up today? But if he needs something, just let me know."

"Okay!" he said in that perky tone of his. "I'll let him know!"

"Thanks," I said. "Goodbye, Eiji-san."

"Ja ne!" he said cheerfully, and I hung up.

* * *

**Momo**

We were on our way to Ryoma's house when Eiji suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! I suddenly remembered something!"

We all turned to look at him, and Kaido hissed, "What?"

"Ryoma-kun, while you and Momo-chan were playing, Atobe-san called."

I was surprised. Why would the monkey king of Hyotei be calling Ryoma?

"Hm? What did Keigo need?"

This surprised me even more. Keigo? They were on a first name basis?

"He said that he couldn't hang out, but if you need anything, just call him."

Hang out? Now I was seriously confused.

"You had a date to hang out with **Atobe**?" I blurted out.

He stared at me, seeming curious. "You knew I was going out with Keigo?"

I blinked once, then twice. "WHAT!" I shouted.

Wincing a bit, he said, "Obviously you didn't."

"You're going out with Atobe? The Atobe?"

He laughed. "That never gets old."

I was still gaping. "Atobe?"

He was about to say something when we turned the corner and saw Atobe standing there. Coming up to us, he wrapped his arms around Ryoma, giving him a peck on the lips.

"What about me?" he asked, looking at me.

Shaking my head, still in a daze, I said, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Turning around, he put his arms around Atobe's neck and kissed him again. I had to turn away. It's not that there was anything wrong with Ryoma having a **boy**friend, I just really didn't enjoy public displays of affection, and I found this really very odd.

"I thought you weren't coming today?" said Ryoma in a happy voice, and I turned to look at him. He had the happiest smile on his face, and suddenly, I didn't mind his choice of partner as much as I had.

Atobe laughed. "Well, I finished early. Which reminds me…" he trailed off and suddenly, a whole group of people suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Looking closely, I realized it was the Hyotei regulars, all showing various degrees of disgust and/or disbelief.

"W-what are they doing here?" I asked, surprised.

Atobe sighed, shaking his head. "They demanded they be allowed to come with me."

Ryoma, his hands still around Atobe's neck, chuckled, and said, "Really, Keigo, you must be losing your touch. I mean, you can't even control your own team anymore."

* * *

**Oshitari**

I watched in disbelief the scene that was going on in front of me. Atobe was being so…gentle. Although I was still pretty shocked, I couldn't help the smile that was tugging at my lips. They really did make a cute couple.

Suddenly, Echizen seemed to remember that the two of them weren't alone and turned to us, a bright blush spread across his cheeks. "Why don't you guys come inside?"

I shook my head, saying politely, "We wouldn't want to be a bother."

"It's no bother at all!" he said, heading towards his house, dragging Atobe along behind him. "Please, do come in!"

I followed obediently, and within minutes, we were all settled in Ryoma's room (do not ask me how fourteen almost fully grown teenagers managed to fit themselves in there) and were drinking tea, or in Ryoma's case, ponta.

"So," I said hesitatingly to Ryoma, who was at this moment sitting in Atobe's lap. "We were wondering…" and here I trailed off, not sure how to bring it up.

"Yes?" he said politely, looking at me with inquisitive eyes.

I fidgeted a little, knowing that my next question would sour the relatively pleasant mood. "We were wondering if you could maybe tell us what happened two years ago and why you left?" I asked quickly.

At this, Atobe shot me a death glare, and Ryoma's eyes clouded over with pain. Whatever it was, it had to have been major, to give Ryoma an expression like that.

Regretting my words, I said, "N-never mind. You don't have to answer that. I am so very sorry for being so impolite."

He smiled absently at me, and said, "No, it's quite alright. I-I don't mind explaining it."

Atobe bent down to give him a comforting kiss on the head. "You don't have to do this, Ryoma."

It still disconcerted me how sensitive Atobe had suddenly become, but not as much as Ryoma's reaction to what I had said intrigued me.

"But I want to," said Ryoma, tilting his head up to look at Atobe.

And so, for the next few minutes, Ryoma had explained to us what had happened after the nationals. He explained everything, and by the end of it, I was speechless. This young boy had experienced so much despair and betrayal, and yet he was able to still love so much. I was so moved at his determination and strength, and yet at the same time, I was horrified at the cruelty the Seigaku regulars had shown to the baby of their team. From the outside, they had all seemed so close, so loving, had it all been a lie? And yet, when I saw the expressions on the faces of the regulars present, I knew that was not true. It was obvious that they regretted deeply what they had done to Ryoma, and they really did care for him. I could only that the other three did too.

* * *

SkyeSyren: And that's a wrap! You all said you wanted more Atobe, and here he is! Although…it's mostly the other regulars, but at least he's there, ne? Anyways, please review, and tell me what you thought! And, as a little treat to all my wonderful readers, here's a little sneak peek for the next chapter:

"_Ryoma-kun!" called my cousin from downstairs._

"_Yes?" I asked._

"_A young man just dropped this off for you. I told him to come in, but he said he had things to do."_

_I looked at what she was holding in her hand, and was frozen to the spot. She was holding a notebook. A green one. One I remembered all too well…_

Hehehe, I guess this could be considered both a blessing and a curse ^_^ I bet you all wanna know, ne? Well, you'll just have to wait till tomorrow…or possibly the day after. I don't know. It depends on the number of reviews I get. Also, I am going to be posting a new story sometime in the next few weeks called "While I Slept…," here's the summary:

Ryoma wakes up one hot summer day in a hospital to find that he's been in a coma for the last two years of his life. After returning home, he finds almost everything that he's ever known and loved is different. His parents have a daughter now and Ryoga has moved to Japan. Even his sempai-tachi, who used to be so cheerful and energetic are now cold and withdrawn, and are feared by the entire school, not to mention that they're not even on the Seigaku high tennis team, let alone the regulars. Will the reappearance of the team's favourite super rookie change things? Who knows? The only way to find out is to read on…


	14. The Notebook

**Inui**

Flipping through my notebook, I put in the last of the post-it notes, then turned to the back of the notebook, to the page with my information on it, and scribbled down a quick note. Finished with the preparations, I headed out.

I had just returned from an extended vacation and what had I found out? Ryoma had moved back to Japan, he was dating Atobe Keigo, and had already forgiven all he regulars except me, Tezuka, and Fuji. All had been made known to me in the last hour, and I was still having trouble digesting all this information. In the past, people would look at me, and assume me to be emotionless, making no strong bonds with anyone, and up until the last few years of my life, that had been true.

I used to quietly observe my subjects, taking down notes, but not ever get involved. That all changed when I met the Seigaku regulars. We were certainly an odd array of personalities, and over time, I had come to love and/or respect each and every one of them, but everything changed when Ryoma came along. At the beginning, we really were just pretending, but we eventually began to see what a wonderful person he was. When he left, I continued to observe the regulars and everyone one of them, including me, changed drastically. When I later read over my notes, I noticed that there were three distinct stages.

The first stage was denial. For those first two or three months, nobody could really believe he was gone. We all kept expecting to see him show up at school one day, acting cocky and arrogant as usually, but he never did.

The next stage was anger. This was the stage where it all began to fall apart. Our team fell into smaller groups, everyone blowing up at each other for the smallest things, and occasionally blaming each other about how much we had hurt Ryoma. Oishi and Eiji were the first to leave, soon followed by Taka. The three of them were still on good terms with each other, but seemed to prefer pretending that the rest of us didn't exist. Momo and Kaido seemed to prefer each other's company, and though they did not leave the tennis team, they preferred to not interact much with others. Tezuka and Fuji were relatively calm throughout this phase, keeping to each other. I, myself, kept flitting from group to group. Oishi, Eiji, and Taka didn't much seem to mind talking to me, and I continued to observe them, noting down the differences in their personalities. Tezuka and Fuji both treated me the same way they always had, though it seemed fake. Fuji was always depressed, and Tezuka was stricter than ever. Momo and Kaido, though, were the ones I spent the most time with. I felt the most comfortable around them, and though they had at first seemed to be the ones that wanted Ryoma gone the most, I soon found that they missed him just as much as the others and I did.

The third, and final, stage was acceptance. By this time, everyone had calmed down a great deal, but only because we never even saw each other anymore. We, who had once been known as Seigaku's dream team, had become complete strangers towards each other. We all finally accepted the fact the Ryoma wouldn't be returning any time soon, and though the pain never really went away, we gained at least a semblance of normalcy.

All this, and more, were written in my notebook, which was why I was currently on my way to Ryoma's temple home. Everyone's raw emotions and pain of the last two years were contained here in this notebook, and Ryoma was going to read it, no matter what.

* * *

**Ryoma**

"Ryoma-kun!" I heard my cousin call from downstairs.

Putting down the book I had been reading, I went to go see what she needed. "Yes?" I asked.

"A young man just dropped this off for you. I told him to come in, but he said he had things to do," she said, seeming a little unsure.

I looked at what she was holding in her hand, and was frozen to the spot. She was holding a notebook. A green one. One I remembered all too well…

Going up to her, I took it from her, saying thanks. Going back upstairs, I continued to ponder why Inui-sempai would give this to me.

Once back in my room, I flopped down onto my bed, and took a closer look at it. There were post-it notes sticking up from the pages that I knew for sure hadn't been there before and so, figuring that they had been put in for my benefit, I opened up to the first page with a note.

Looking at the title written neatly at the top of the page, I saw that it was the information page for Tezuka. Not quite ready to read that, I opened up to the next one, which soon turned out to be Oishi's page. Skimming through the information, I saw that it had certain basic information like his date of birth, his blood type, the prefecture he was born in, and so on. Skipping all this information, I went down to the very bottom of the page, and saw a subheading called _Reactions to Ryoma's Departure_. Surprised, I read the first few sentences, and was shocked. This section described in detail Oishi's behaviours after I had left, and I knew there was something horribly wrong. It said that Oishi, our mother hen, had changed drastically, at one point even snapping at a freshman for forgetting to put his racquet away properly.

Continuing on, I read all the other regulars' pages except for Tezuka and Fuji's. I didn't read Inui's either, preferring to keep that one until the end. Taking a deep breath, I opened up to the first post-it, and began reading Tezuka's section. What I read shocked me. The emotional suffering he went through blew my mind. At one point, it was even written that Tezuka, our stoic buchou who never showed any emotion, had actually shed tears. When I was finally done reading the section, I had tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. Fuji's section was much the same as Tezuka's and it greatly pained me. Although I was relieved that Fuji, whom I had always thought of as a second brother, really did care for me, it hurt to realize just how much he had been hurting, and to think of all those times he had tried to apologize to me…

By the time I turned to Inui-sempai's page, I understood why he had given this to me. I knew everything written here was true, because Inui, no matter what the motives, would never, **ever** make up fact. Inui's section was much the same as the others had been, only more powerful, because it was he himself who had written this, and the evidences were there, the occasional tear stains dotting the page here and there. Getting to the bottom of the page, I saw something that had clearly only just been written down.

_Ryoma, please, accept this as my apology, and, if you're willing to forgive any one of the three of us, let it be Fuji. He cares greatly for you, and though you may not understand it now, whatever he said that day, he said for what he thought was your own good. Just talk to him once. I beg of you._

_Yours truly,_

_Inui Sadaharu_

* * *

SkyeSyren: Saa, I'm starting to smell the end of this fic, which is sad. Maybe only one or two more chapters left. *Sigh* I have a feeling I'll be lonely when this is done and over with...anyways, please review and tell me what you thought and I'll see y'all next time!


	15. Of Friendship and Forgiveness

**Tezuka**

Sighing, I sat down, and looked blankly at the pieces of paper in front of me. It was once again time to hold the intra-school ranking matches, and yet, I was at a loss as to what to do. There was only me, Fuji, and Inui left on the team, and none of the other members were anywhere near good enough to even get us past the preliminaries, let alone to the nationals.

I was still puzzling over what to do when the clubroom door slid open and Inui entered, smiling vaguely.

"Something wrong, captain?"

Sighing, I sat back. "Aside from the fact that I have an incomplete team? I don't know who to put in what block."

Realising what I was saying, I checked myself. Never before had I gotten so close to whining.

Chuckling, Inui said, "Well, I'm not sure if the news I've got will help your problem, but it will definitely change it."

I looked over at him, noticing for the first time the drastic change in his personality. He seemed almost…happy, which was a stark contrast between my own foul mood. "What news?" I asked suspiciously.

"I just thought I should tell you that we have six new members. Three third years, two second years, and a freshman."

Shaking my head, I sighed in exasperation. "Why are they joining so late in the season? And why all of them at once?"

Inui just remained quiet and I began to grow suspicious. "Tell me their names," I said.

He smiled and began listing off the names. "Oishi Shuichiro, Eiji Kikumaru, Kawamura Takashi, Momoshiro Takeshi, Kaido Kaoru, and Echizen Ryoma."

I sat in a stunned silence as he smiled smugly at me.

"Did you just…" I trailed off.

He nodded. "And Echizen-kun wants a word with you. He said he'd be waiting for you in the changing rooms."

Hearing this, my feet itched to get moving, but I stayed in my seat instead, nodding and saying, "Let him know I will be there as soon as I am available."

Sighing in exasperation, he came over and pulled me up off my seat, taking my place.

"I'll do this for you. You just go downstairs and make up with Ryoma."

I was unable to react for a moment, then I smiled slightly at him, saying, "Arigatou."

He just nodded, making shooing gestures with his hands.

Walking calmly to the door, I nodded back at him once before walking through it and sliding it quietly shut. Once outside, I had to force myself not to run.

When I got to the change room door, I stood for a moment, taking a deep breath, then opened the door and walked inside.

What I saw then was a strange sight indeed.

Ryoma was sitting with Fuji's head in his lap. Fuji was lying on his back looking up at Ryoma and they were talking about something in low tones. When I walked in, they both looked at me and I saw that Fuji's eyes were red and puffy, but he looked the happiest I had seen him in years.

Smiling, Ryoma said, "Hello, sempai."

I nodded. "Hello, Echizen-san."

He gestured for me to come over and I obeyed, sitting down beside them.

"You needed to talk to me?"

He nodded. "I was just wondering why you both said what you did that day."

I looked at him curiously. "You're willing to listen to what we have to say?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't have before, but Inui-sempai convinced me."

"Inui?"

"He let me read his notebook. But anyways, you still haven't answered my question."

Getting up, Fuji said, "It's because we love you."

"What?" he asked, his face taking on a very faint pink tinge.

"We both consider you a younger brother. We love you. And when you love someone, doesn't it only make sense to do what's best for them?"

"What's best for me? In what way was that best for me?"

"Well," I said. "Anyone can see that you have a great deal of talent. You could become a pro in no time, but we were holding you back. We knew that you would never leave on your own, so we purposefully said things that would make you hate us, but what we didn't know was how much it would hurt you."

E let out a small laugh, saying, "These past two years, I've been under the impression that you all hated me. To find out that it's the complete opposite is just too much to digest."

For a second, I was worried that we wouldn't be forgiven after all, but then he smiled, and I knew that he understood.

* * *

**Atobe**

As my limo pulled up in front of Seigaku, I didn't see the brat anywhere. Rolling down my window, I stopped a student and asked him, "Might you know where I can find a freshman, Echizen Ryoma?"

"Oh, that guy? I heard that he just joined the tennis team today. He's probably at practise."

I nodded my thanks at him, and as he walked away, I undid my seatbelt and asked my driver to wait a few minutes while I went to talk to Ryoma.

As I neared the courts, I heard a great deal of cheering. There were club members scattered around all the courts, watching intently the games that were going on. Apparently, all the regulars that had led Seigaku junior high to the nationals three years ago were now part of the team and were taking part in the upcoming intra-school ranking matches. Their places as regulars were pretty much set.

One of the second years, Momoshiro, spotted me and smiled, gesturing to a door, which I assumed to be the change room. Nodding my appreciation, I turned and headed for it.

As I opened the door, ready t o sweep Ryoma into a hug, the first thing I saw was my boyfriend, sprawled across the floor, and one of the third years, Fuji, on top of him on all fours.

* * *

SkyeSyren: Haha, I bet you guys thought it was over when Tezuka and Fuji were forgiven, didn't you? What do you think is going to happen now? Review, and tell me what you thought!


	16. Together Again

**Fuji**

Hearing the door open, I immediately jumped off Ryoma and looked up, expecting to see a confused tennis club member but instead finding an enraged Atobe.

Confused, I blurted out, "What are you doing here?"

"Wondering why **you** were on top of my boyfriend!" he said angrily, coming up and scooping Ryoma up.

"B-boyfriend!" I asked, bewildered. "Ryoma's your boyfriend?"

Ryoma, who was now crushed up against Atobe's chest let out a strangled, "K-Kei! Let go! I c-can't breathe!"

Looking down, Atobe's furious expression dissipated for a second, and he loosened his grip on the winded freshman.

Pushing away, Ryoma took a deep breath and shouted, "Baka!"

Atobe winced visibly, his expression becoming confused.

"B-but Ryoma! He was-" began Atobe, but he didn't get to finish.

"He **tripped** and **fell**," said Ryoma, sounding thoroughly exasperated.

"But you-"

"I tried to catch him, but he was too heavy and I fell down with him."

His gaze flitted between the two of us, seeming to search for something. What he saw must have reassured him, because his expression became sheepish and he said, "A-ah. I see. Ore-sama is sorry for jumping to conclusion.

I smiled, still a bit dazed. "That's alright."

"But!" he said. "If I ever catch you-!"

"Kei!" shouted Ryoma, louder this time.

"What?" asked Atobe, turning to him.

"Urusai!"

"But Ryoma! I'm just-!" and again, he was interrupted.

"I don't care what you were just doing! This is Fuji-sempai we're talking about! He's not going to do anything!"

"You don't know that," said Atobe.

"Yes, I do! He's my sempai for crying out loud!" Ryoma seemed to be getting really pissed off.

I couldn't help laughing.

They both turned to looked at me, saying in unison, "What are you laughing at?"

This only made me laugh more. "I-I'm sorry," I say, wiping a tear away. "It's just, you two seem so close."

"How does fighting make us seem close?" asked Ryoma, looking at me as if I had gone crazy.

I shrugged. "You just do. Anyways, Atobe, don't worry, I promise we won't do anything to Ryoma."

He still looked a bit suspicious but nodded anyway, saying, "You better not!"

"Guys! I'm right here! Stop talking about me as if I weren't!"

"Ahaha, gomen, Ryoma-kun," I say.

"Whatever. Can we just get off this topic?" he asked, seeming a bit uncomfortable.

I was about to say something when the door to the change room suddenly burst open and the other six of our group tumbled to the floor in a tangled heap.

"Wha-? What are you guys doing here!" shouted Ryoma.

They all got up and Momo looked at him sheepishly and said, "Ah, never mind what we were doing. That's all in the past! Now, why don't we all go get some food, ne? My treat!"

Ryoma, who had until then looked furious suddenly had a sly grin on his face. "You'll treat us?"

Suddenly realizing what he had said, Momo's face paled and he said, "No! That's not what I meant!"

But before he could deny it any further, Eiji began jumping around excitedly, shouting, "Yoshi! Time for food!"

He jumped right out of the changing room with the rest of us, and a still protesting Momo following.

_**The End**_

* * *

SkyeSyren: _KYAAAA! _It's done! It's finally done! Omg, this is like Hidden Himesama all over again, I'm beginning to feel lonely. *Cries* Anyways all, please review one last time and tell me what you thought and hopefully, I'll see you all again sometime! If you really liked this story, then check out some of my other stories! Anyways, one last time, au revoir, mes amis( yes, I speak Francais. Je suis Canadien)!


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